Early modern Britain and Ireland

Early Modern Britain and Ireland is a period from the 15th-century Tudor Renaissance to the British Industrial Revolution which began in the 18th century.

Understand
"Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves. Britons never, never, never shall be slaves."

- James Thomson set to music by Thomas Arne, 1740

The Early Modern period saw England's and Scotland's participation in the Age of Discovery, the Protestant Reformation, and the foundation of the United Kingdom and the British Empire.

Britain rivalled European great powers such as the Dutch Empire, the Spanish Empire, and the Kingdom of France, while the Portuguese Empire became a long-time ally.

The early modern period can be held to begin with the Tudor Renaissance in 1485, as the Hundred Years and the War of the Roses were followed by a period of stability and innovation. The late 18th century with the Seven Years War and the American War of Independence heralded the modern era.